Countertop deck oven with advanced conduction elements

ABSTRACT

A countertop deck oven has advanced conduction elements to cook according to an optimum thermal spectral profile of a selected food by selectively using an etched foil heating element and a secondary heating technology element both disposed within the baking chamber. A controller independently controls the etched foil heating element and the secondary heating technology element according to a selected thermal profile having different levels of heating assigned to each of the heating elements. Thereby the oven heats a particular food in the baking chamber according to its associated spectral heating requirement.

CLAIM OF PRIORITY UNDER 35 U.S.C. §119

The present Application for Patent claims priority to ProvisionalApplication No. 62/029,670 entitled “COUNTERTOP DECK OVEN WITH ADVANCEDCONDUCTION ELEMENTS” filed Jul. 28, 2014, and assigned to the assigneehereof and hereby expressly incorporated by reference herein.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The field of art disclosed herein pertains to cooking equipment, andmore particularly to countertop baking ovens.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Countertop deck ovens provide a space efficient way to bake foods. Anumber of heating technologies for such ovens are used that have certainspectral advantages. For example, microwave technology can emitwavelengths that energize water content of a food, providing a quickwarming capability. Radiant heat such as from wire heating elements canbrown the food at a higher temperature to create a different texturethan what a microwave oven can achieve.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,223,290, which is hereby incorporated by reference inits entirety, provides a conveyor oven for cooking food products usinginfrared radiation. The oven uses upper and lower etched foil heaters,which are disposed above and below the upper flight of a conveyor beltpassing therethrough. The heaters are disposed sufficiently close to thefood items to effect rapid and efficient cooking The heaters, however,are separately controlled. The oven also includes a controller forgoverning the speed of the belt, the time of exposure to infraredradiation, and a range of radiation wavelength between about 4 and 5microns for cooking the food in the oven. Additional improvements aredesirable, however.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In one aspect, the present disclosure provides an oven including abaking chamber. An etched foil heating element is disposed within thebaking chamber. A first thermal control circuit is in electricalcommunication with the etched foil heating element to selectively drivean electrical current through the etched foil heating element. Asecondary heating technology element is disposed within the bakingchamber. A second thermal control circuit is in electrical communicationwith the secondary heating technology element to selectively activatethe secondary heating technology element. A memory contains more thanone thermal profile having different levels of heating assigned to eachof the etched foil heating element and the secondary heating technologyelement to address differing spectral heating requirements for differentfoods. A controller is in communication with the memory, the firstthermal control circuit and the second thermal control circuit andcomprising a processor. The processor executes instructions according toa selected thermal profile to configure the oven to heat a particularfood in the baking chamber according to an associated spectral heatingrequirement.

In another aspect, the present disclosure provides an oven including abaking chamber. An upper etched foil heating element is disposed withinthe baking chamber above a support surface. A first thermal controlcircuit in electrical communication with the upper etched foil heatingelement to selectively drive an electrical current through the upperetched foil heating element. A lower etched foil heating element isdisposed on or below the support surface within the baking chamber. Asecond thermal control circuit is in electrical communication with thelower etched foil heating element to selectively activate the loweretched foil heating element. A controller is in communication with auser interface, the first thermal control circuit and the second thermalcontrol circuit and comprising a processor. The processor executeinstructions to configure the oven to: (a) present an upper temperatureaffordance and a lower temperature affordance on the user interface; (b)receive a first user input selecting an upper temperature setting viathe upper temperature affordance; (c) receive a second user inputselecting a lower temperature setting via the lower temperatureaffordance; and (d) heat a particular food in the baking chamberaccording to the upper and lower temperature settings.

In another aspect, the present disclosure provides an oven including abaking chamber with upper and lower etched foil heating elementsdisposed within the baking chamber wherein the upper and lower etchedfoil heating elements are used in combination with one or moreadditional heating technologies selected from the group: (1) inductiveheating; (2) convection technology (i.e., movement of heated air); (3)radiant heat (i.e., heated coils); (4) microwave technology; or (5) asteam-assist mechanism. In another aspect, the present disclosureprovides an oven including microwave technology, steam-assist or acombination thereof.

These and other features are explained more fully in the embodimentsillustrated below. It should be understood that in general the featuresof one embodiment also may be used in combination with features ofanother embodiment and that the embodiments are not intended to limitthe scope of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The various exemplary embodiments of the present invention, which willbecome more apparent as the description proceeds, are described in thefollowing detailed description in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawings, in which:

FIG. 1A illustrates a diagram of an oven that utilizes upper and loweretched foil heating element that are independently controlled, accordingto one or more embodiments;

FIG. 1B illustrates a diagram of an oven that utilizes an etched foilheating element and a secondary heating technology element, according toone or more embodiments;

FIG. 2 illustrates a diagram of a top view of an example oven, accordingto one or more embodiments;

FIG. 3 illustrates a diagram of a front view of the example oven,according to one or more embodiments;

FIG. 4 illustrates a diagram of a right side view of the example oven,according to one or more embodiments;

FIG. 5 illustrates a right front isometric view partially cutaway of anexemplary oven with an open door, according to one or more embodiments;

FIG. 6 illustrates a left front isometric view of the exemplary oven ofFIG. 4, according to one or more embodiments;

FIG. 7 illustrates a left front isometric view of a stack of threeexemplary ovens of FIG. 4, according to one or more embodiments;

FIG. 8 illustrates a left front isometric view of the stack of threeexemplary ovens of FIG. 7 with the doors open, according to one or moreembodiments;

FIG. 9 illustrates a left rear isometric view of the stack of threeexemplary ovens of FIG. 7, according to one or more embodiments; and

FIG. 10 illustrates a left front isometric detail view of the stack ofthree exemplary ovens of FIG. 7, according to one or more embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The system's goal is to provide consistency in the cooking of food in acountertop deck oven. This is specifically accomplished by the use ofadvanced elements in conduction in the form of etched-foil heatersattached to conductive metal located within a stable chamber capable ofcapturing and storing heat utilizing appropriate insulation materials.The food is placed on the conductive surface of the bake chamber via ahinged door on the front of the oven, wherein the etched-foil heatersare activated to heat and bake the food in a consistent manner.

To provide the optimal heating per particular intended use, theconductive mica and etched-foil heaters, which may be may be used incombination with one or more of the following: (1) inductive heating;(2) convection technology (i.e., movement of heated air); (3) radiantheat (i.e., heated coils); (4) microwave technology; or (5) asteam-assist mechanism. The purpose of the addition of thesetechnologies to enhance the etched-foil heating elements would be toincrease (1) the speed of cooking or (2) the quality of the bake. Theaddition of the above heat sources would be included solely in additionto a system comprised of the initially outlined etched-foil heatingsystem. The system may contain one or more of the additional options inany potential combination.

The metallic etched foil can be attached to a high temperature backingmaterial for structural support during the etching process andsubsequent placement. This backing material can be one of ceramic paper,ceramic cloth, ceramic board, mica paper, mica board, fiberglass paper,fiberglass cloth or fiberglass blanket or calcium silicate board. Theheating element may comprise a metallic etched foil bonded with one ormore layers of an inert material. In that case, the inert material maycomprise Kapton®, all-polyimide or mica foil. The etched foil mayinclude a metal sheet cut by a laser or by electro-chemical process. Thesheet may be made from any suitable material, for example, aniron-aluminum based alloy, an iron-manganese-aluminum base alloy orTimetal®. The sheet may be rectangular in shape, or may have a patternedshape, which may form a coil-like structure when formed.

In one embodiment, the etched foil heater is a composite heater, andmore particularly still, an etched, multi-zone, mica composite heater.Generally, the composite heater comprises a selectively patterned etchedfoil heater element, or elements as the case may be, and a mica carrieressentially encapsulating heater element. In another embodiment, themica-insulated heater is encased in a thin (e.g., 0.030″-0.125″) copper“shell,” i.e., heat conducting casing.

The size of the internal baking chamber may vary depending on thespecific usage requirements. For example, the internal baking chambercould be sized between six (6) inches wide by six (6) inches deep by two(2) inches high to twenty-six (26) inches wide by twenty-four (24)inches deep by ten (10) inches high. This does not exclude anyadditional potential sizing, but serves as a basis for describing thepotential interior dimensions. The overall oven system would be anyinterior sizing to accommodate for the addition of electrical componentsrequired to run and protect the heated area. The electric power requiredfor the unit ranges from 110 volts to 208 single-phase or three-phasesystem, depending on the usage requirements for the various sizesproduced.

In use, (1) the oven may be set to pre-heat, if so desired, or maysimply be turned on when the need to bake arises. (2) An individual setsthe time and temperature on the oven based on the product to be cooked.(3) If pre-heated, the oven will be ready to use. If not pre-heated, theindividual will set the oven to pre-heat, at which time the oven willrise to temperature and then alert the individual once the settemperature has been achieved. (4) An individual inserts a food item tobe baked by the oven into the baking chamber by opening the door andplacing the item inside. (5) The oven will then provide an alert whenthe set baking time has been completed, and the oven will remain attemperature or begin to cool, based on the pre-heat settings chosen, asdescribed previously. (6) The product will remain in the oven until itis removed by an individual.

FIG. 1A illustrates an oven 10 that includes a baking chamber 12. Anupper etched foil heating element 14 is disposed within the bakingchamber 12 above a support surface 16. In one embodiment, the supportsurface 16 is a bottom interior portion of the baking chamber 12. Inother embodiments, the support surface 16 is a suspended surface (notshown). A first thermal control circuit 18 is in electricalcommunication with the upper etched foil heating element 14 toselectively drive an electrical current through the upper etched foilheating element 14. A lower etched foil heating element 20 is disposedon or below the support surface 16 within the baking chamber 12. In anexemplary embodiment, the support surface is integrally attached to thesupport surface 16. A second thermal control circuit 22 is in electricalcommunication with the lower etched foil heating element 20 toselectively activate the lower etched foil heating element 20. Acontroller 24 is in communication with a user interface 26, the firstthermal control circuit 18 and the second thermal control circuit 22 andincludes a processor 28. The processor 28 executes instructions toconfigure the oven 10 to: (a) present an upper temperature affordance 30and a lower temperature affordance 32 on the user interface 26; (b)receive a first user input selecting an upper temperature setting viathe upper temperature affordance 30; (c) receive a second user inputselecting a lower temperature setting via the lower temperatureaffordance 32; and (d) heat a particular food 34 on the support surface16 in the baking chamber 12 according to the upper and lower temperaturesettings.

In one or more exemplary embodiments, the etched foil controllableheating element on top plus an etched foil controllable heating elementon bottom can provide differential heating of a baking product, such as500 degrees on the top but only 250 degrees on the bottom for certainnumber of minutes so that two sides are precisely cooked. The oven 10could have secondary heating functions. In one or more exemplaryembodiments, a single oven 10 can contain two belts with the thinness ofthe etched foil heating elements 14, 20 enabling a stacked arrangement.In one or more embodiments, steam can be injected to form a bread crust.In one or more embodiments, convection fans can be used to even outheating. In addition, one housing 40 can include multiple bakingchambers 12. In one embodiment, one housing 40 includes three or fourbaking chambers 12.

FIG. 1B illustrates an oven 100 that includes a baking chamber 102. Atleast one etched foil heating element 104 is disposed within the bakingchamber 102. A first thermal control circuit 106 in electricalcommunication with the etched foil heating element 104 to selectivelydrive an electrical current through the etched foil heating element 108.A secondary heating technology element 110 is disposed within the bakingchamber 102 in order to provide a different mode (i.e., conduction orconvection) or a different radiant spectral frequency than the etchedfoil heating element 108 to complement its cooking characteristics. Asecond thermal control circuit 112 is in electrical communication withthe secondary heating technology element 110 to selectively activate thesecondary heating technology element 110.

A memory 114 contains more than one thermal profile 116 having differentlevels of heating assigned to each of the etched foil heating element104 and the secondary heating technology element 110 to addressdiffering spectral heating requirements for different foods. In one ormore embodiments, the secondary heating technology element 110 includesone or more of an inductive heating element 110 a, a convectiontechnology element 110 b, a wire coil element 110 c, a microwave heatingelement 110 d, a steam-assist heating element 110 e, and another etchedfoil heating element 110 e.

A controller 118 is in communication with the memory 114, the firstthermal control circuit 106 and the second thermal control circuit 112and includes a processor 120. The processor 120 executes instructions122 according to a selected thermal profile 116 to configure the oven100 to heat a particular food 124 in the baking chamber 102 according toan associated spectral heating requirement. A user can interact with auser interface 126 to start, stop, or adjust the cooking parameters. Forexample, the user interface 126 can include aural, visual or hapticinput controls 128 and output controls 130. In an exemplary embodiment,the user interface 126 includes a touch screen display and an audioalert capability.

In one or more embodiments, the etched foil heating element 104 usesNichrome 80/20 (80% nickel, 20% chromium). Nichrome 80/20 is an idealmaterial, because it has relatively high resistance and forms anadherent layer of chromium oxide when it is heated for the first time.Material beneath this layer will not oxidize, preventing the wire tracefrom breaking or burning out. Etched foil elements are generally madefrom the same alloys as resistance wire elements, but are produced witha subtractive photo-etching process that starts with a continuous sheetof metal foil and ends with a complex resistance pattern.

In one embodiment, the oven 100 includes a manually-opened oven door 132that is hinged along a bottom edge to rotate downward. In otherembodiments, the oven 104 can include openings on opposite sides with aconveyor surface to perform a continuous timed cooking operation on asequence of food items such as uncooked pizzas.

One of the etched foil heater element 104 and secondary heater 110 canbe placed below the food 124, such as an etched foil heater element 134that is integral to a heating surface 136 that supports the food 124. Anexample of such an etched foil heater element 134 is disclosed in U.S.Pat. No. 4,150,280, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated byreference in its entirety. Alternatively, the etched foil heater element134 may be exposed below a support surface such as a mesh that allowsfor radiant and convective thermal energy to reach an undersurface ofthe food 124. An example includes the previously incorporated disclosureof U.S. Pat. No. 5,223,290. However, each of the two etched foil heaterelements 104, 134 can be independently user-controlled for a desiredcooking attribute via an upper temperature affordance 140 and a lowertemperature affordance 142 presented by the user interface 126. Forexample, the upper etched foil heater element 104 can have an uppertemperature selected for the type of toppings of a pizza and the loweretched foil heater element 134 can have a lower temperature selected fora desired texture of a baked crust having a particular thickness andmoisture content.

FIGS. 2-4 illustrate an example oven 200 having a baking chamber 202surrounded by insulated areas 203, a control electrical chamber 205having a recessed area 207 (FIG. 2) for an electrical connector, aninsulated door 232, and an oven controller 218 that includes a display219 (FIG. 3).

FIGS. 5-10 illustrate an exemplary oven 500 having removable legs 501and top recesses 509 that allow for stacking of one or more ovens 500(FIGS. 7-10). FIG. 10 illustrates that oven doors 532 are dimensioned tonot contact one another.

The oven assemblies described here may be further characterized bycombinations of sensors, controllers, cabling and other electricaland/or mechanical components, as well as tight dimensional tolerances,surface flatness, perpendicularity, and a select surface finish.Furthermore, temperature sensors may be configured to provide feedbackto allow the controller to control the temperatures of each heating zoneto keep the temperatures within a desired range. In one embodiment, thetemperature sensors and controller may be configured to maintainaccurate temperatures within a maximum range of approximately 150-500degrees Fahrenheit. In alternative embodiments, the controller may beconfigured to maintain temperatures outside of this range.

It must be noted that, as used in this specification and the appendedclaims, the singular forms “a,” “an” and “the” include plural referentsunless the content clearly dictates otherwise. Thus, for example,reference to a “colorant agent” includes two or more such agents.

Unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used hereinhave the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill inthe art to which the invention pertains. Although a number of methodsand materials similar or equivalent to those described herein can beused in the practice of the present invention, the preferred materialsand methods are described herein.

As will be appreciated by one having ordinary skill in the art, themethods and compositions of the invention substantially reduce oreliminate the disadvantages and drawbacks associated with prior artmethods and compositions.

It should be noted that, when employed in the present disclosure, theterms “comprises,” “comprising,” and other derivatives from the rootterm “comprise” are intended to be open-ended terms that specify thepresence of any stated features, elements, integers, steps, orcomponents, and are not intended to preclude the presence or addition ofone or more other features, elements, integers, steps, components, orgroups thereof.

As required, detailed embodiments of the present invention are disclosedherein; however, it is to be understood that the disclosed embodimentsare merely exemplary of the invention, which may be embodied in variousforms. Therefore, specific structural and functional details disclosedherein are not to be interpreted as limiting, but merely as a basis forthe claims and as a representative basis for teaching one skilled in theart to variously employ the present invention in virtually anyappropriately detailed structure.

While it is apparent that the illustrative embodiments of the inventionherein disclosed fulfill the objectives stated above, it will beappreciated that numerous modifications and other embodiments may bedevised by one of ordinary skill in the art. Accordingly, it will beunderstood that the appended claims are intended to cover all suchmodifications and embodiments, which come within the spirit and scope ofthe present invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. An oven comprising: a baking chamber; an etchedfoil heating element disposed within the baking chamber; a first thermalcontrol circuit in electrical communication with the etched foil heatingelement to selectively drive an electrical current through the etchedfoil heating element; a secondary heating technology element disposedwithin the baking chamber; a second thermal control circuit inelectrical communication with the secondary heating technology elementto selectively activate the secondary heating technology element; amemory containing more than one thermal profile having different levelsof heating assigned to each of the etched foil heating element and thesecondary heating technology element to address differing spectralheating requirements for different foods; and a controller incommunication with the memory, the first thermal control circuit and thesecond thermal control circuit and comprising a processor to executeinstructions according to a selected thermal profile to configure theoven to heat a particular food in the baking chamber according to anassociated spectral heating requirement.
 2. The oven of claim 1, whereinthe etched foil heating element is positioned to heat an upper surfaceof the particular food in the baking chamber and the secondary heatingtechnology element is positioned to heat an undersurface of theparticular food in the baking chamber, the oven further comprising: auser interface that includes an upper temperature affordance to receivean upper temperature setting for the etched foil heating element andincludes a lower temperature affordance to receive a lower temperaturesetting for the secondary heating technology element.
 3. The oven ofclaim 2, wherein the secondary heating technology element comprises anetched foil heating element.
 3. The oven of claim 1, wherein thesecondary heating technology element comprises an inductive heatingelement.
 3. The oven of claim 1, wherein the secondary heatingtechnology element comprises a convection technology element.
 4. Theoven of claim 1, wherein the secondary heating technology elementcomprises a wire coil element.
 5. The oven of claim 1, wherein thesecondary heating technology element comprises a microwave heatingelement.
 6. The oven of claim 1, wherein the secondary heatingtechnology element comprises a steam-assist heating element.
 7. The ovenof claim 1, further comprising a support surface, wherein one of theetched foil heater element and the secondary heating technology elementare positioned below a support surface to cook an undersurface of a foodarticle placed on the support surface.
 8. The oven of claim 1, furthercomprising: a housing that encompasses the baking chamber and includesmore than one upper surface receiving apertures; and removable legs tosupport the oven and attached to attachment contours formed on an undersurface of the housing that are spaced to correspond to a pattern of themore than one upper surface receiving apertures of another oven forstacking with the removable legs removed.
 9. The oven of claim 8,further comprising a door that pivots above a horizontal hinge attachedproximate to one of a top edge and a bottom edge of a front opening inthe baking chamber, the door sized to move between an open and closedposition without contacting a door of another oven stacked on or underthe oven.
 10. An oven comprising: a baking chamber; an upper etched foilheating element disposed within the baking chamber above a supportsurface; a first thermal control circuit in electrical communicationwith the upper etched foil heating element to selectively drive anelectrical current through the upper etched foil heating element; alower etched foil heating element disposed below the support surfacewithin the baking chamber; a second thermal control circuit inelectrical communication with the lower etched foil heating element toselectively activate the lower etched foil heating element; a userinterface; and a controller in communication with the user interface,the first thermal control circuit and the second thermal control circuitand comprising a processor to execute instructions to configure the ovento: present an upper temperature affordance and a lower temperatureaffordance on the user interface; receive a first user input selectingan upper temperature setting via the upper temperature affordance;receive a second user input selecting a lower temperature setting viathe lower temperature affordance; and heat a particular food on thesupport surface in the baking chamber according to the upper and lowertemperature settings.
 11. The oven of claim 10, wherein the lower etchedfoil heater element is integrally attached to the support surface thatportions a bottom portion of the baking chamber.
 12. The oven of claim10, wherein: the support surface comprises a suspended surface; and thelower etched foil heating element is attached to a bottom surface of thebaking chamber to radiate heat through the suspended porous surface.